Friday, December 2, 2011

Randy's Restaurant and Ice Cream

I love exploring restaurants and specialty food shops in and around the cities we visit. Most places have at least one strength, something to get excited about, but Phoenix is a big city and they have a lot going on so you can find almost anything you are looking for. Specialty cheese shops, small butchers that I would buy my meat from if I lived there and gluten free bakeries. They have a lot more big eating experiences than what you see in Seattle, big, fancy restaurants run by celebrity chefs. We were looking for something a little different, a classic diner, as they aren't very prevalent in Seattle. Not that I'm complaining, there is great breakfast to be found in Seattle but there is something so comforting about a good old fashioned diner and Randy's Restaurant and Ice Cream beckoned us.

We stopped in for breakfast on a busy Sunday morning and I had to stifle a laugh as we walked in. In our hometown of Seattle we live in a neighborhood where a lot of restaurants are beyond hip. Wood and exposed beams everywhere, urging us to order the local, organic, sustainable food off the menu. Randy's was the polar opposite. A busy, crowded diner without an indication anywhere that the food is organic and every surface that wasn't a table was covered with Santa Claus dolls. I felt like I had been transported to a Goodwill holiday gift shop.

Our waitress took our drink order as soon as we sat down and was back a couple of minutes later to find out what we wanted to eat. I wasn't ready as the menu is amazingly long. They have every combination you could ever want for breakfast, short stack with an egg, short stack with sausage and eggs, waffle with eggs, the list went on. And on. I told her I wasn't ready and it was no problem, 'it's a lot to look through, I'll be back in a few', and she was. I bravely ordered a veggie eggs benedict (didn't I learn anything from Kitchen Confidential?), my husband ordered a chorizo and egg breakfast, eggs, bacon and toast for my son and cereal with bananas for my daughter. The food was out in less than five minutes. I don't think it was waiting around, it really just seems like they are good at fast turnover. The eggs benedict took about two minutes longer than everything else and the delayed dish was brought over by Randy (I believe) with an apology for its tardiness.

The chorizo and eggs looked like a mistake to me but my husband assured me it was good. I'm not sure this is the place to venture out. If I lived nearby, I think I would come by for a straightforward breakfast but leave it at that. The veggie eggs benedict was served with freshly sliced tomatoes and avocado on an english muffin. The tomato and avocado were nice and cold and must have been pulled from a cooler. They sat underneath a hot egg and creamy hollandaise sauce and were served with a side of homefries.

Our coffee cups were refilled multiple times while we sat there and we were in and out of there in less than thirty minutes which is nice with kids. It is just what it claims to be, a straightforward diner, cheap prices and fast service.

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Thank you for visiting Salt on the Table; my name is Sonia and I am the author. This blog chronicles the portion of my life that is devoted to food and what inspires me in the kitchen. The recipes I create, cookbooks I read, restaurants I visit, food I encounter on my travels, as well as some occasional musings on food.